Carrie Prejean Loses Miss California USA Crown

Donald Trump blasts the Miss USA runner-up for not playing nice with others

Photo: Denis Poroy/AP

Miss California USA Carrie Prejean has been stripped of her title for violating her contract and “unwillingness to make appearances on behalf” of the organization, pageant officials announced Wednesday.

“I told Carrie she needed to get back to work and honor her contract with the Miss California USA Organization and I gave her the opportunity to do so,” Donald Trump, who owns the Miss USA and Miss Universe organizations, said in a statement. “Unfortunately it just doesn’t look like it is going to happen.”

Trump later told TMZ: “To me she was the sweetest thing. Everyone else, she treated like s—.”

Prejean, 22 – who made headlines in April for her anti-gay marriage stance – got involved in more controversy after topless photos of her surfaced on the Internet.

At the time Trump said, “We have determined that the pictures taken were fine,” and allowed Prejean to keep her title.

The determination to fire Prejean, who was first runner-up in the Miss USA Pageant, “was a decision based solely on contract violations including [her] unwillingness to make appearances on behalf of the Miss California USA organization,” said executive director Keith Lewis.

“After our press conference in New York we had hoped we would be able to forge a better working relationship,” Lewis added. “However since that time it has become abundantly clear that Carrie is unwilling to fulfill her obligations under our contract and work together.”

First runner-up Tami Farrell will replace Prejean and assume the role and responsibilities as Miss California USA. The organization also announced that Miss USA Kristen Dalton and Miss Universe Dayana Mendoza would fulfill appearances Prejean was scheduled to do.

The news that Prejean would lose her crown was first reported by Foxnews.com.

• Reporting by MARK DAGOSTINO
from Huffington Post
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